Reborn in a Daimyo's court in Naruto

Part 1

Chapter 1

FIRE LORD-Katsugawa Hirayoshi

The third Great Ninja War had erupted only a decade after the flast one, bringing with it a new storm of devastation and destruction. The Hidden Villages were engaged in a conflict with each other, one that took lives by the hour, wreaking havoc across the whole continent and beyond.

Yet, in the land of fire, another conflict had risen up. One was fueled by greed and ambition as the current daimyo of the nation felt his days number. His various children began to plot for his eventual demise, each gearing up support so they could take his place.

It was nothing new to the Fire Daimyo Katsugawa Hirayoushi. The man had risen to power after a similar struggle. Yet unlike his own father, Katsugawa cared for his children, or at least for those he had fathered through the love of his life, the lady Miyo, a daughter of a rather insignificant Shugo, yet nonetheless, the woman had been the love of his life.

His position as daimyo had forced him to take concubines as well, and father children with, them. Yet his affection would only ever remain for his first love. She would bless him with two sons and a daughter, of which now only the daughter remained.

His love for his lady wife had acted as poison for herself and their children. His other children knowing of his favor, had first moved to eradicate his two sons by Miyo, and despite his various attempts to keep them safe, he had failed. And the sorrow of losing her two sons had taken a toll on his wife as well, as she made to follow them to the afterlife.

And so now, he remained alone, growing weaker by the day, as only their little daughter remained to remind him of his failures.

The court grew tense as his illness took him to bed. His greedy and ambitious sons now moved to tear each other apart, trying to prove to him that they were worthy of inheriting his position.

As if he would ever let any of them.

And it was this conviction that brought them to the current scenario as he sat in his castle and stared at the young boy sitting opposite to him in seiza.

He was young, younger than his two sons, and nervous, given the way his eyes continuously darted around the room when he thought he was not being observed.

He was the son of one of his advisors, Akihito Shibuya, a man who had helped him in his own rise to the position of daimyo. And for his services, he had granted the man ample land, making him a jito.

The man himself had succumbed to illness some years ago, leaving behind only a son, Akihito Shirahoshi. The boy had then taken control of the lands he had granted his father, and he had expected the boy to squander away everything his father had built. The boy had surprised him by transforming those very lands.

The province of Shinoi, which were the lands he had granted the man, were now amongst the most prosperous in the whole kingdom, with their future looking even brighter. Many of his advisors had warned him against the progress of these lands, yet he could never bring himself to act against the boy.

There had been no sign of disobedience or rebellion, the taxes would come on time and there would be subterfuge in the numbers.

"At ease, jito Shirahoshi," he said, and the boy elevated his head after a small gulp.

They sat in his own room, one where the daimyo would host his esteemed guests. They were alone in the room with only a servant bowing by the side, ready to serve tea at his command.

The boy was still nervous. As he looked at him and spoke up.

"Jito SHirahoshi thanks the esteemed lord for granting him this favor," he said politely, a hint of hesitation in his tone as he continued to observe the boy finally reaching his conclusion.